How did the Maltese and Gozitans fare under Roman occupation? How were they treated by their new masters? And what did they do to appease them? What changes did the new political situation bring about in their lives? How did they respond and / or adapt? Was their religious identity in any way affected? How did they manoeuvre their loyalties to their own benefits? And how did they manage their own domestic affairs within the new political set-up?
Though based essentially on epigraphical evidence, this study seeks to address the above and other questions through an exercise in which epigraphy and the archaeological record supplement each other. The results shed new light on the governing bodies of the Maltese islands in Roman times and the models they followed, those who administered them, the latter's role and status, and also their relationship with and their significance for the rest of the population.